Young & Wright Architectural’s Richard Krouse explains to the Jamestown School Board where new construction issues were found in Jamestown High School Kitchen project (July 16, 2026)
The Jamestown School Board has approved a $260,000 construction change order after sanitary line and floor condition issues were found during the Jamestown High School kitchen construction project.
Young and Wright Architectural’s Richard Krouse informed the board that construction crews found a broken and leaking sewer pipe in the kitchen area, “We were performing some demolition for some planned work in the kitchen area, and there is a tunnel that runs underneath the kitchen. When the concrete was removed, the caps of this tunnel, really strong sewage smell came out of the tunnel. So, we actually went to investigate.”
Krouse said that investigation found multiple locations of cracked pipe or completely missing portions of pipe on a four-inch sanitary line that services a locker room and runs through the renovation area. He said the issue will be solved with new piping installed.
The second issue crews found was an atypical floor condition under an old cooler where there is four inches of concrete over eight inches of cork. Krouse said this slab would need to be replaced.
The total cost presented to the Board to vote on is $260,000 although Krouse said initial quotes received indicate that the actual cost should be much lower. This request uses 20% of the remaining capital project contingency fund for this phase, leaving $1.2 million for any project overruns in the second floor and gymnasium projects. Krouse said the good news is that the problems they anticipated finding with the gym sub floor did not pan out and crews are installing the new floors.
He said fixing both kitchen issues will likely set back projects by three weeks, which will affect use of the kitchen for the beginning of the school year. District Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations Brittnay Spry said that cafeteria workers would be able to work around this by using outdoor grills as they did at the end of the 2025-26 school year after the new cafeteria opened.
District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said even with well built buildings, when the structure is 90 years old or older, things can break, “And, we don’t know where everything is because the plans aren’t exactly at the same level that they would be nowadays. So, in our 100-year-old building there are surprises lurking everywhere, and we get to uncover them, much like Christmas morning, determining what the issues may be for us to resolve at any given point. And this is unfortunately necessary to do. We have the money set aside.”
Whitaker added that the capital projects have so far come in under budget and ahead of schedule.
The Jamestown School Board was required to vote on the change order due to the need being in excess of $35,000. The State Education Department also will be notified of the project update, but further approval is not needed.
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